MUSIC

Austin on the road: White Denim in Scotland

By Shannon McGarvey
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Friday, November 28, 2008

GLASGOW, Scotland - There's no right way for a woman to climb into the back of a tour van with the lead singer of a band. Especially when the van is parked in a seedy cobblestone alley and the lead singer is the strapping James Petralli - vocalist-guitarist for the spastic Austin buzz band White Denim.

The three-piece, which also includes bassist Steve Terebecki and drummer Josh Block, has been on the road in spurts throughout most of 2008. Monday night's performance at Stereo, the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed office building turned inner city vegan café and venue, was the last of a two-week string of shows in Western Europe and the U.K. with the London-based Six Nation State. The night before, White Denim played the Ruby Room in Manchester and had a late start heading to Glasgow the following morning, delaying their arrival by a couple of hours.

Petralli, whose long hair peeks from under a blue and red knit cap, now sits on a bench seat in the back of the cluttered van, plucks a cigarette from a bronze-colored pack, asks if he can smoke, and begins to explain the band's tardiness. "We had kind of a late night last night." He taps the cigarette in an ashtray on a side panel. "We played the new record for the record label people, and I drank a little too much whiskey." He's speaking of the re-release of "Workout Holiday," the band's first full-length album on the U.K. label Full Time Hobby. The re-release includes selected songs from White Denim's full-length U.S. debut "Exposion," plus the addition of a bonus EP, which bridges the gap between the two albums.

The vocalist is careful to clarify that such late-night indulgences have been the exception for him on this tour; he damaged his voice early on in Holland. "We visited Amsterdam, and I smoked a lot of filterless cigarettes," he says, pausing for a moment of loaded reflection. "... It's been a long couple of weeks."

Just then, Josh Block appears in the window of the van and pulls at the handle on the sliding door. He pokes his head through the rectangular opening, "You've gotta see this band - they're really good!" He's referring to the Glaswegian four-piece Schnapps, whose sonic reverberations can be felt all the way into the alley. Petralli seems unfazed, nods and continues with his train of thought as Block retreats back inside the club.

Of all the rigors of touring, the most difficult task, Petralli says, is the lack of exercise and food selection. "Diet is one of the biggest things ... because I don't like eating fast food."

Though Scotland and England bear many historical and cultural offerings, it is sad to say that food cannot often be included within its list of global contributions. Truthfully, most Scottish and English cuisine can be narrowed down to two categories: boiled or fried. This culinary conundrum lends itself to the affliction of which White Denim menacingly calls "van belly."

But there's a lot more to the U.K. than food. For starters, as Petralli notes, U.K. audiences are a lot livelier than those stateside. "London's been the best for us ... but we're still doing really humble shows. People actually dance to our songs and know the words and even mosh."

What's most curious to the charmingly modest musician, however, is the age range among European crowds. "It's really interesting. We'll have 14-year-old kids show up to well ... did you see the guy with the cane inside? He's our Glasgow fan."

To the credit of the band, there was more than just a lone elder in the audience. In fact, throughout the entire 45-minute set, the basement of Stereo was awash with jerking bodies and spastic dancing. The boys ended with an encore, which seems to be customary for headliners in these parts, and wasted little time in packing equipment and loading up the van.

Terebecki and Petralli had an early flight to catch the next morning, and the band was eager to embark on its three-month respite from touring. Their next show comes after Petralli's wedding in January and just after Valentine's Day in Guadalajara, Guadalajara.

Shannon McGarvey is a former American-Statesman writer now attending graduate school in Scotland.